1st March, the first day of spring and a beautiful morning. Plenty of snowdrops and early daffodils were in evidence on our walk this morning. But the kitchen garden at Kingston Lacy was mainly bare earth with not much to see.

Except for these wonderful little creatures …

We watched them enjoying digging deep in the mud, snuffling and snorting, and even blowing bubbles. They obviously see (smell?) things under the earth that we are oblivious of…

I watched the crescent moon
Hung like a hammock between two trees,
Trailed by a brightness which looked unreal.
I thought of leaving it a while
To find my camera,
But instead
I stayed and watched as in a dream
The journey of the stars,
And rooted to the spot I felt
The earth move beneath my feet.

Not my photo obviously, but a sight similar to the one I watched on Friday evening, not knowing what I was seeing – the beautiful proximity of Venus and Mars with the crescent moon. I found the photo on Facebook Lunar101 Moonbook . Perhaps I wish now I had taken a photo of my own. Or do I? The dilemma of whether to just watch, and look, in the moment – or point a lens to capture it.
For another view of this beautiful journey check out my son Ben’s time lapse pictures. He was watching the same sight from a different place….https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=wtDifsGoyIc

Although the morning was dull and cloudy we decided to get out to see the sea. We had an early lunch of tasty soup at the Russell Cotes Museum, overlooking the beautiful hazy Bournemouth bay, with a view across to Old Harry rocks.

Then the clouds cleared and we wandered down to the pier to watch other beach walkers and the zip-wire riders. The sun was warm while it lasted, just for a few pleasant February hours.

After a month of posting “small stones” it was strange not to be storing moments of paying attention to post here!
But that’s why I like to start the year with a month of noticing, it gets me in the habit…

This week the snow followed us south, a beautiful soft and light covering, but it didn’t last long.

Instead another sprinkling is now decorating the ground – snowdrops.
Clusters in the garden, and in swathes at Kingston Lacy House this sunny morning.

Pristine white
Baby soft skin
Covering folds and curves
Of the landscape.
The road ahead
Hidden
Around unknown corners,
Cradled in a blanket of beauty.

The hills around Macclesfield were beautiful this morning. We took a short drive before visiting the hospital today and the snow on the fields was unmarked, making everything look clean and new. But it was very slippery underfoot…

Today.
The day when I met a small person for the first time, and experienced that amazing moment of seeing my own child with his child.
The day I met my grandson.

This “small stone” is a milestone in the journey of several lives. Steve and I have become a grandparents for the first time, our son is now a father, and a new life has just started….
Baby William (Bill) arrived last night. So we travelled north to snowy Macclesfield today to meet him. Just beautiful…